Pareto Front Analysis of Buffer-based Energy Efficient Control for Machines in Serial Flow Lines

Machine energy state can be controlled to improve sustainability of production systems by reducing the energy demanded during idle periods. Indeed, machines can be switched off to avoid energy waste, although a start up is required to resume the service. Because of system complexity and interactions among control parameters, the performance of production systems composed by controlled machines is difficult to predict. The paper analyzes a serial flow line where machines can be controlled for energy saving purposes using butter level thresholds. The multi-objective goal is to minimize the energy consumed to produce parts and to maximize the throughput. The Pareto front obtained is analyzed by mean of numerical cases and the work provides useful insights for the energy management of manufacturing systems. Discrete Event Simulation is used to evaluate system performance. For the analyzed scenarios, moving along the Pareto front, from highest to lowest throughput, more and more machines are controlled.